Muse/News: Remix Time, Herbal Voids, and Great Waves

SAM News

Seattle Met recommends our “stunning” exhibition of textiles from around the globe. Ikat: A World of Compelling Cloth is on view through May 29.

A great time to see Ikat? How about during SAM Remix, our after-hours art party with music, art, tours, and more? The Seattle Times includes it in their “what to do around Seattle this week” feature, and The Stranger marks it down as one of their “top events” for the week. 

“What better way to beat SAD than with SAM?” We see what you did there. The Stranger recommended SAM Body & Mind, a free new program at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Don’t miss the final edition of the series on April 29 as we say farewell to winter.

Local News

Kurt Schlosser for Geekwire heads to WNDR to take you “inside the new immersive museum that blends art and tech.”

The Seattle Times’ Michael Rietmulder interviews the new organizers of an old fav: Bumbershoot Festival. Read up on what they’ve got lined up.

Crosscut’s Brangien Davis visits the National Nordic Museum’s new installation by Jónsi, and also checks out some other immersive shows (including a mention of Ikat). 

“A mysterious scent filled the air: something organic and soft, slightly herbal with a whiff of the coast. It was hard to discern where the room began and ended.”

Inter/National News

A two-minute listen via Brianna Scott for NPR: “How these art sleuths reunited a family after centuries apart.”

Karen K. Ho for ARTnews speaks with curator Leonardo Bigazzi, who had to convince lenders that their artworks would be safe… in a movie about an art thief

Chadd Scott for Forbes interviews Sarah Thompson, curator of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, about what makes Hokusai’s Great Wave such an enduring image, seen on emojis and mugs and t-shirts. You can see the legendary print itself when it travels to SAM for Hokusai: Inspiration And Influence.

“Images in general that are a big hit often have something mysterious about them, or something that you can interpret in different ways, and that’s definitely true of the Great Wave.”

And Finally

And how about a Great Wave made from Legos?

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: L. Fried.

Muse/News: Textile Tour, Mason Frenzy, and Hokusai Reads

SAM News

“A world tour in textiles”: Photojournalist Ken Lambert of the Seattle Times captured the splendor of Ikat: A World of Compelling Cloth, SAM’s exhibition that opened last week. His photos also appeared on the front page of the paper’s Friday edition. 

The exhibition was also included in South Seattle Emerald’s round-up of arts events happening in March

And Taylor Bruce for the UW Daily reviewed the exhibition that explores “the art of ‘slow fashion.’”

“The exhibit is not just about traveling the world, it also serves as a glimpse into how much textiles can mean, how they help people form bonds, and how they can create alternatives to buying from clothing stores.”

Local News

“Clyde Petersen’s Queer Devotions”: Corianton Hale interviews The Stranger’s “Artist of the Week.”

Did you know that Seattle-based Eighth Generation created blankets for Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Crosscut’s Brangien Davis gets all the details from Kim Kroeker, the company’s director of product development. (P.S.: Brava to now two-time Oscar winner Ruth E. Carter!)

“A Seattle artist and the auction frenzy that sparked an FBI tip”: Margo Vansynghel’s final story for Crosscut before her move to the Seattle Times is a deep dive into the art market shenanigans surrounding Seattle artist Alden Mason (1919–2013). 

“The winter sky outside the castle had already turned dark when the art dealer got the message.

‘Check out the auction house ABC …. The Alden Mason painting,’ the text message read. Soon another gray bubble popped up on the iPhone screen. ‘FAKE Mason !’”

Inter/National News

Via Tessa Solomon for ARTnews: “5 Shows to See That Explore the Complexities of Womanhood” in honor of Women’s History Month.

Solomon also shared this exciting news: “Carrie Mae Weems Makes History as First Black Woman to Win Prestigious Hasselblad Photography Prize.”

The Art Newspaper’s Book Club gets recommendations of “four must-read books” on Hokusai from Sarah E. Thompson, the MFA Boston curator of Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence, which travels to SAM this fall.

“Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is famed for his print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, commonly known as The Great Wave, an image reproduced innumerable times around the world in all sorts of contexts. But the Japanese artist’s work was so much more interesting than his much copied and parodied wave might suggest; anyone who has seen his prints in the flesh will be blown away by the intricate detail and skilled craftsmanship.”

And Finally

ICYMI: The Seattle Times’ Moira Macdonald recaps the Oscars.

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: L. Fried.

Muse/News: Seeing at SAM, Breaking Labels, and a Museum Lab

SAM News

“Seeing and Being Seen”: Fiona Dang for South Seattle Emerald on Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue at SAM, which closes this Sunday, January 22.

“Bey and Weems act as interpreters and eyewitnesses, asserting Black history as American history. Through their reflection of personal memories and their reimagining of critical sociocultural events, the past reverberates and resonates with the contemporary moment. Economic and institutional forces — racial global capitalism, political divisiveness, and gentrification, to name a few — shape collective ways of seeing and being. Antithetical to these oppressive, isolating processes, ‘In Dialogue’ asks us to pay attention, question, celebrate, and be present.”

Crosscut names the “things to do in Seattle” this week, including the final week to see the work of Bey and Weems as well as Anthony White: Limited Liability, which closes January 29.

The Art Newspaper names its “must-see exhibitions in 2023,” including Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence, from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston that debuts in Boston before heading to SAM this fall.  

ParentMap’s Elisa Murray on “How to Visit Family-Friendly Museums Around Seattle for Free,” including how children 14 and under are free every day at SAM.

Local News

Crosscut’s Brangien Davis on “honoring MLK Day with Seattle art,” which mentions the grand reopening of the Northwest African American Museum, a new show at Arte Noir, and more. 

The Stranger’s Charles Mudede thinks about the city’s iconic pink signs and lobster rolls (including those at MARKET Seattle at SAM). 

The Seattle Times’ Jerald Pierce on the early works on paper by legendary sculptor George Tsutakawa, which are now on view at the Cascadia Art Museum. 

“‘This exhibition is a rare opportunity for the public to see a body of work that has mostly been in storage for decades,’ said [curator and author David F.] Martin…‘Contrary to what the public might presume, Tsutakawa’s earlier works are highly informed by European Modernism and not Japanese art or technique, that came later in his career. So, George really transcended labels and was truly an independent modern American artist.’”

Inter/National News

Jerry Saltz of New York Magazine with “7 Art Shows We Can’t Wait to See in 2023”; he mentions a few shows with SAM connections, including Sarah Sze’s show at the Guggenheim (there’s an incredible work by the artist now on view at SAM!) and the Georgia O’Keeffe show at MoMA (which will feature SAM collection work Music–Pink and Blue No. 1).

Via ARTnews’ Maximilíano Durón: “NFL Chooses Chicana and Indigenous Artist Lucinda Hinojos to Create Artworks and Ticket Design for 2023 Super Bowl.”

Artnet’s Eileen Kinsella speaks with Frick director Ian Wardropper on the museum’s fortuitous temporary move to the Breuer Building and how it “sparked a rethink of its iconic Old Master collection.”

“‘While we’re here, it allows us more freedom, in this building that’s kind of a laboratory,’ said Wardropper. ‘It’s almost the antithesis of the Gilded Age mansion, where we can experiment more easily. We’re hoping we develop audiences and ideas here that we can take back to the mansion.’”

And Finally

Join in the fun: @mygirlwithapearl.

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations

Photo: Alborz Kamalizad.

Hello, 2023! A Sneak Peek at SAM’s Exciting Year Ahead

The new year brings new art… and lots of it! We’re so looking forward to an entire calendar’s worth of must-see exhibitions across all three of our dynamic locations and can’t keep it to ourselves any longer. Read below for a sneak preview of what’s to come at SAM over the next twelve months!

“There will be something for everyone at SAM in 2023,” says José Carlos Diaz, SAM Susan Brotman Deputy Director for Art. “The exhibition schedule includes rich displays from the museum’s collection as well as a global array of dynamic art and programming from places such as Indonesia, Ghana, Japan, and right here in the Pacific Northwest region. 2023 welcomes not only a new year but also the 90th anniversary of SAM, which first opened to the public in June 1933.”

Kicking off the year, SAM’s modern and contemporary galleries now play host to Reverberations: Contemporary Art and Modern Classics. This array of art spotlights recent acquisitions and includes many works going on view for the first time. With works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, and Ruth Asawa, contemporary artists Senga Nengudi, Laura Aguilar, and Mickalene Thomas, and emerging artists Dana Claxton, Woody de Othello, Naama Tsabar, and Rashid Johnson, this collection installation explores the idea of ongoing artistic exchange. Many of the works on view are by artists of color and many are by women artists, reflecting the museum’s ongoing commitment to diversifying the collection and the perspectives we present.

On March 9, SAM will open Ikat: A World of Compelling Cloth, presenting an immersive exploration of the complex textile created in regions around the globe. The exhibition will feature over 100 textiles made from the 12th century to the present including kimonos, furnishings, robes, and other cloths from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. A large-scale installation by contemporary artists Roland and Chinami Ricketts that offers the experience of walking into an ikat will also be on view.

Summer brings Soul of Black Folks, an exciting touring exhibition and the Seattle debut of Ghanian artist Amoako Boafo (b. 1984). One of the most influential artistic voices of his generation, Boafo is known for vibrant portraits that center on Black subjectivity, Black joy, the Black gaze, and radical care. Co-organized by the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Soul of Black Folks will present over 30 works created between 2016 and 2022.

Later in July, the Seattle Asian Art Museum will debut Renegade Edo and Paris: Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec, exploring the cities’ early 20th century artistic and social transformations. Through nearly 90 prints drawn from SAM’s Japanese prints collection as well as private holdings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s artwork, this exhibition offers a critical look at the renegade spirit in the graphic arts in both Edo and Paris, highlighting the social impulses—pleasure seeking and theatergoing—behind the burgeoning art production.

Finally, the fall will see SAM celebrate the works of Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) with Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence, from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, opening October 19 at SAM’s downtown location. Thanks to the popularity of the instantly recognizable Great Wave—cited everywhere from book covers and Lego sets to anime and emoji—Hokusai has become one of the most famous and influential artists in the world. This touring exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), takes a new approach to the work of the versatile master, pairing more than 100 of his woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books from the MFA’s collection with more than 200 works by his teachers, students, rivals, and admirers.

Other 2023 highlights at SAM include the solo exhibition of 2022 Betty Bowen Award winner Elizabeth Malaska; the SAM debut of artist, director, and writer Howard L. Mitchell—also known as GATO—whose 2019 film, Forgive Us Our Debts, tells the fictional story of Trey, a terrified 13-year-old Black boy who lives with his family in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood; large-scale sculptural works at the Olympic Sculpture Park 365 days a year; and so much more.

With so much in store for 2023, we can’t wait to welcome you back to SAM soon!

– Rachel Eggers, SAM Associate Director of Public Relations & Lily Hansen, SAM Marketing Content Creator

Photo Credits: Headdress–Shadae, 2019, Dana Claxton (Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux), born 1959), LED firebox with transmounted chromogenic transparency. 60 1/2 x 40 1/2 x 7 in. (153.7 x 102.9 x 17.8 cm.), Richard E. Lang and Jane Lang Davis Acquisition Fund for Global and Contemporary Art, 2022.2, © Dana Claxton. Image courtesy of the artist. Pardah hanging, late 19th century, Silk Road (Uzbekistan), silk, warp ikat, cotton weft, 90 x 65 in., Collection of David and Marita Paly. Black and White, 2018, Amoako Boafo, oil on paper, 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 in., Image and work courtesy private collection and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California, photo: Robert Wedemeyer. Tagasode of the Tamayo House, 1800-02, Kitagawa Utamaro, Japanese, 1754-1806, woodblock print: ink and color on paper, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in., Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2017.23.13. Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjûrokkei), Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849) about 1830–31 (Tenpô 1–2), woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. We Will Remain Separate, 2019, Elizabeth Malaska, oil, Flashe, pencil on canvas wrapped panel, 72 x 120 x 2 in., Courtesy of the artist, © Elizabeth Malaska.

Object of the Week: The Poem of Ariwara no Narihira (Ariwara no Narihira Ason)

Unheard of
even in the legendary age
of the awesome gods:
Tatsuta River in scarlet
and the water flowing under it.

(Poem by 9th-century poet Ariwara no Narihira; translation by Joshua Mostow, from Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakuni Isshu, in Word and Image).

We’re welcoming the first week of fall here in Seattle. The Autumnal Equinox—when night and day are nearly the same in length, and summer officially gives way to fall—took place Wednesday, September 23. Most people won’t be checking their calendars for that date, but instead will know the change by the fresh chill in the air and the striking color contrasts we start to see in nature. It’s my favorite season for the beauty and the change visible all around us.

There are plenty of reasons to celebrate fall. Long before the term “fall” was coined, and also before the French-derived “autumn” entered the vernacular, the same season was known simply as “harvest.” It meant a time of reaping, gathering, enjoying abundance, and cozying up for winter.

The collection at Seattle Art Museum includes a memorable homage to fall: a print work by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). One of the most important producers of ukiyo-e, a grouping of woodblock prints from Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868), Hokusai is represented by 27 works at SAM, including prints and ink drawings on paper and silk. Through the aesthetic in his work, Hokusai became an important influence on the European Impressionists. Seattleites and our visitors will have the opportunity to see many of the best of the Impressionists in the upcoming exhibition, Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, opening October 1.

Hokusai’s tribute to fall, The Poem of Ariwara no Narihira (Ariwara no Narihira Ason), gives visual form to the poem at the top of this post. There’s a lot happening in the print. Blue-green hills set a backdrop in the distance while auburn leaves rise above them. The color contrasts that we identify with fall are beautifully visualized here. Closer to us, several pairs of figures are bustling about—active, but also joyful in their work. Beaming smiles match the visual warmth of the scene. A flowing river cuts across the landscape with an infectious life and energy, carrying a bunch of colorful maple leaves with it. Both the print and the poem that inspired it capture the sense of mystery and magic surrounding the cycle of the seasons. It’s a phenomenon beyond our control that informs everything—how we work, play, dress, and live.

Jeffrey Carlson, SAM Collections Coordinator

To learn more about this artwork and other treasures in SAM’s collection, visit our website.

IMAGE: The Poem of Ariwara no Narihira (Ariwara no Narihira Ason), ca. 1838, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760-1849, woodblock print: ink and color on paper, 10 1/4 x 14 3/4 in., Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum, 2010.47.5.

SAM Art: Five very beautiful women

Hattie Branch, Blakemore Intern, brings us a look at the work of Katsushika Hokusai.

Long before Hokusai published his famous The Great Wave of Kanagawa, he was an emerging artist, independent of any established school and struggling to get by. A popular account tells that one day the widow of Kunisada, a former leading print artist, commissioned a painting from Hokusai. She was so impressed with the results that she paid him far more than he expected. The stunned Hokusai determined to perfect his technique so that he could support his family with painting commissions.

Five Beautiful Women comes from the first half of Hokusai’s career when he was building his reputation as a producer of luxury arts for an elite audience. Here he makes the familiar subject of beautiful women fresh and exciting by arranging them vertically. The drapery of their luxurious raiment flows from one to the next like a tumbling waterfall of silk. His unique arrangement turns an otherwise static subject into an invitingly dynamic composition.

At the time Hokusai was working, Edo’s (now Tokyo) popular culture was dominated by salon gatherings of wealthy merchants, samurai, poets, and artists. At a salon, the host would customarily hang a scroll painting, like Five Beautiful Women, in a display alcove. Elegant works of art both established an atmosphere of cultural sophistication, and provided fodder for witty repartee. Party-goers could have speculated on the classification of the five women, and debated the relative merits of the “types” they represent. They are now usually identified as either five social classes (top to bottom: a noble woman, a wealthy merchant’s daughter, a house servant to the high class, a courtesan, and a shop woman) or the five Confucian feminine virtues (poetry, flower arranging, domesticity, entertainment, and literacy).

More than just a producer of landscapes, through his long career Hokusai touched on most every genre, and mastered all that caught his interest. Five Beautiful Women exemplifies his masterful painting of women, and makes palpable why his work was in such high demand.

Five Beautiful Women, 1804-18, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760-1849, hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, 71 x 18 1/4 in., Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund, 56.246. Currently on view in LUMINOUS, special exhibition galleries, fourth floor, SAM downtown.
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